


I Got Sneaky Fingers

by chentlemenfirst



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: ??? - Freeform, Baking, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Hybrids, Other, home baker!minseok, kid raccoon hybrid!jongdae, large amounts of improper and poor researching :(
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-27
Updated: 2017-09-27
Packaged: 2019-01-06 01:19:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12201099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chentlemenfirst/pseuds/chentlemenfirst
Summary: Minseok bakes muffins and other yummy sweets almost everyday but never gets to have any. But in the end he gains the most loyal little taste tester.





	I Got Sneaky Fingers

**Author's Note:**

> [Prompt #36]
> 
> -1.7k words
> 
> \---
> 
> loosely inspired by @Ophaniela's chenbaek little series, @graywolfchan's little xiuyeol series, and @langmanpanda’s chenguri on twitter (check out their fanart, they're all so cute :3 )
> 
> THANK YOU TO MY LOVELY, LAST MINUTE BETA J (you know who you are <3<3<3), and thank you prompter, even though this wasn't probably what you had in mind, i really loved this prompt and wished i put more of my ideas into this fic <3, and lastly thank you to all the mods! they're seriously awesome and great <333

Minseok has been living on his own in a small little town in the countryside for a little over three-- or was it four? -- years, but he has never had a problem with his neighbors, the closest of which still lives pretty far, or the woodland creatures residing in the forest surrounding his home-- well except for that one time last summer when a doe had dug up his garden and ate his tomatoes.

It is just now becoming autumn, and he can finally open his windows to cool his baked goods before winter introduces a blizzard of snow and ice into his home. Unfortunately, he finds yet another one of his muffins in a muddy puddle behind his house. 

Who would steal his muffins from his windowsill, not even eat it, and just throw it into a puddle behind his own home?

 

Minseok pouted down at the mess, eventually telling himself that just staring at the sad mush won't clean itself up.

 

 

It happened _again_.

 

It had been raining all day, and it had been soothing enough to get Minseok into his aggressive baking mode, totally forgetting about the spectacle that took place the week before.

 

This time, he had baked two pies (apple and blueberry, hand picked) and a tart (raspberry, also hand picked) in his late night frenzy.

And he swore, swore he left the window just slightly open, not gaping. But somehow it ended up that way, and great, now water was misting at his windows, leaving droplets of water dangerously close to his baked goods.

 

This simply cannot happen.

 

He scuttles to the open window and shuts it quickly, but not before he hears a faint giggle coming from the forest. He decides to ignore it in favor of checking out the damage done to his desserts.

 

The next day, when the sun is bright and high in the sky, Minseok is standing in front of his kitchen window that looks out to the forest encircling his home.

He notices two things; one, there’s a long hanging branch that scrapes against the window every time the wind breezes through, and two, there’s a pair of little footprints in the mud and small -- what looked like blueberry sauce covered handprints on the side of his house and on the windowsill. He must have missed that last night.

Odd, he immediately thought. What parent would let their child out on a stormy wet night? What child would _want_ to be out in a storm at night?

 

The man frowns at the sticky mess, deep in thought, not fully noticing the tinny rustling coming from inside his metal garbage can.

Still frowning at the mess on the side of his house, he begins rolling up his sleeves with a fiery determination to get his house looking spick-and-span. 

“Let’s do this,” he says with fierce energy.

 

Well, a few hours go by, and he cleans up the sugary mess, along with the rest of the house siding, yard, gutters and windows…

And now the sun is slowly drifting down in the sky, and it’s darker the longer he stands in the yard admiring his fine work. 

He gives a satisfied smile at the ache deep in his muscles as he picks up the last of the yard waste to throw to the curb. 

 

Minseok is making his way up the driveway, waving goodnight to his neighbors as they retire, when he hears a loud crash come from his garbage bin. Not being someone who gets frightened easily, he calmly heads over to where the noise came from.

He walked up to the metal garbage can and watched as it wiggled and clattered back and forth, a soft snuffling sound coming from inside. 

 

“It couldn’t be more than the stray barn cats or a raccoon, right?” he said to himself, placing a hand on the handle and slowly lifting it a small fraction. 

Seeing nothing jumping out at him and the noises stopping as he pulled off the lid completely, he peered into the shadows and almost thought it was actually empty if not for the pair of light reflecting eyes peeking back up at him, almost making him jump back in surprise.

 

“Oh my-- holy--” Minseok stuttered, putting down the lid, bent over and lifted a hand to pat at his heart. “You gave me a huge scare, little guy.” He chuckled as two rounded ears atop a bird's nest of dark hair appeared from over the lip of the can.

Straightening himself out, he calmly walks over to the bin and peers down at the little critter. The little critter peers back up at him with curious eyes. 

 

As if everything was totally normal, Minseok picks up the little raccoon hybrid and holds him out at arm's length, shaking him slightly to make him laugh. “Are you the sneaky rascal that keeps stealing my sweets?” he asks, already knowing the answer from the stains on the young raccoon hybrid’s white t-shirt. 

The little rascal does not look one bit ashamed as he gives the man a very cat-like grin.

 

Minseok laughs. It's cute, he thinks, _really_ cute.

 

“Where's your mom, little dude?”

The little kit looks up at him in question. “Mama?” the hybrid asks back, climbing Minseok’s shoulders, settling his chin on the baker’s head. “Fores’,” he purrs lazily, seemingly unbothered. 

From what Minseok remembered, in the small town there were maybe five-- six now including the little one, hybrids in total. Maybe he’ll have to ask one of them about raccoon hybrids.

 

Taking everything in stride like the calm man he is, Minseok properly adjusts the kit on his shoulders and walks towards the back door, listening to the little guy chatter away above him.

 

 

The little raccoon’s name is Jongdae, he discovers, and according to the town’s doctor (and his friend Yifan), he is about five years old and in perfect health, though a bit on the thin side. But Minseok had no worries about that, because in a few days, weeks, Jongdae gained all the weight he needed and was happier than ever, if the excited chirps are anything to go by. 

Doing a bit of research, Minseok finds out that male raccoon _animals_ tend to split away from their mothers in the fall or around a year’s time. But Jongdae is a raccoon _hybrid_ , though he shares similar characteristics with his… _procyonid_ counterparts, he is still very much a little human boy, just with round furry ears and a puffy tail. 

When Minseok asked about his mother, the boy happily replied, saying he lived with his mother and many sisters and brothers on a farm in the countryside owned by a friendly old man. One day, the old man had gotten sick, and he suggested they move to another farm owned by his nephew in the town besides this one. Being one of the youngest in his mother’s latest litter, Jongdae went along with his mother instead of leaving like his older siblings did when they were old enough. But during the big storm he had gotten separated from his family and happened to camp out in the woods where he snacked on the treats Minseok left by the window. He had camped out in the garbage bin while the storm was raging, and stayed until Minseok found him.

 

 

It's been a month since then, and Jongdae is a joy to be around. Minseok has not only gained another mouth to feed, but a grateful one who will gladly taste test his baking experiments.

 

There are times where Jongdae gives Minseok the biggest heart attacks. What usually happens is that Jongdae will occasionally disappear during a nice and sunny afternoon without a trace. 

While Minseok worries his head off about where Jongdae is or might have gone, the young hybrid seems to apparate out of nowhere and wrap his little arms around Minseok’s legs, ultimately tripping the older onto the ground where they will sprawl out on the ground.

He’s gotten used to the raccoon pulling disappearing and reappearing acts, so now he just simply waits for him to show up for lunch or a snack.

 

“ _Where do you disappear to during the day, Jongdae_?” Minseok had asked Jongdae one night as they’re cuddling on the couch after dinner.

The ears on top of a nest of hair twitch lazily at the question.

“ _Hmm_? _Me_?” Jongdae asks back, dozing off to the soft soundtrack playing in the background of a Disney movie. “ _I go visit my mama, sometimes._ ” He mumbles into the front of Minseok’s shirt, wiping a little bit of drool off his chin. 

“ _Your mom_?” Minseok is getting sleepy himself. “ _How do you do that_?” 

“ _We meet in the forest by the river_ ,” Jongdae’s words are getting slurred together. “ _She says she wants to meet you and say thank you._ ” 

 

Minseok does eventually meet her, and she came bearing many gifts and a few of Jongdae’s belongings. She thanked him profusely for looking after her youngest kit, and was sorry for not being there.

When he invited her in for the night, she initially told him over tea that she was going to raise Jongdae on the farm until became old enough to decide whether he wanted to stay on the farm or leave like his older brothers had. But on the night of the big storm he had run off to chase a moth, and didn't come back. When he did, his voice overflowed with excited admiration of _his Min hyung_ , how yummy his cakes were and how warm his hugs were at night and how his smile was like looking up at the sun.

Minseok blushed, and glanced under the table where the mentioned kit was fast asleep, nestled on top of his feet.

 

When she left later that night, she went with the promise of visiting again and Minseok offering to lend a hand on their farm sometime in the future.

 

Minseok had never been more caught off guard by such a little body with such a huge presence. Jongdae has only been around for a few months, but already has made a huge impact on Minseok and easily made a home for himself deep within his heart

**Author's Note:**

> \- raccoons will douse their food in water before eating, and scientists don't really know why. the muffin was left in the puddle bc jongdae tried dousing the muffin, but didn't like that it got soggy and yucky, despite his instincts :c (just in case it wasn't clear ehe)  
> \- raccoons aren't really weasels or rodents
> 
>  
> 
> rushed the ending so bad, i will say so until the earth explodes.  
> i love this au, maybe i'll write more in the future ?? ;0


End file.
